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Impact of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the health and well-being of families

Condition category

Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Date applied

08/09/2010

Date assigned

23/12/2010

Last edited

04/09/2014

Prospective/Retrospective

Retrospectively registered

Overall trial status

Completed

Recruitment status

No longer recruiting

Plain English Summary

Background and study aimsAttention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common childhood onset neurobehavioral disorder and is estimated to affect around 4-12% of 6-12 year olds. ADHD is characterised by developmentally inappropriate hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention continuing throughout life. Although there is existing research relating to poorer health and social outcomes for ADHD children, little of this work uses generic quality of life measures, or those which can be converted into utility measures, such as Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). This study aimed to address gaps in the existing knowledge base of quality of life of families who have a child with ADHD, through an observational study of children with ADHD and their families. The results will paint a detailed picture of what life is like for families who live with a child with ADHD, and how this impacts upon the health and well-being of all family members.

Who can participate?Children aged 6 to 18 with a current diagnosis of ADHD, and their parents/guardians and siblings. Families where there were no children with ADHD were also recruited as the control group.

What does the study involve?Questionnaires were given to children with ADHD and their families at one time point. There were six questionnaire booklets to be completed by a family, though the number of booklets varied according to the number of family members. There was a booklet for all children to complete, booklets for the main carer to complete about all children, and booklets for both carers to complete. A booklet was also sent to the child with ADHD's teacher and the research nurse completed a booklet from the child with ADHD's clinical notes. In addition, the main carer in 100 of the families recruited also completed a Daily Mood Diary for one week, where a set of 15 questions were asked 10 times a day. Families where there were no children with ADHD were also recruited and completed the questionnaire booklets and the daily diaries; this was the control group.

What are the possible benefits of participating?There were no direct benefits and there were no risks to the families in taking part in the study as it was an observational study and there was no change to the child with ADHDs treatment due to the study. However, the results of the study may help research into ADHD and the impact this condition has upon families.

Where is the study run from? Families were recruited from 15 NHS trusts over the UK, and the trial was run from the University of Sheffield (UK).

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? Families were recruited between December 2010 and August 2012, and the control group continued to be recruited up to March 2013.

Who is funding the study? The study was funded by Shire Pharmaceuticals (UK).

Additional identifiers

EudraCT number

ClinicalTrials.gov number

Protocol/serial number

Study information

Scientific title

Assessing the impact of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the health and well-being of their families: an observational cross-sectional study

Acronym

Study hypothesis

This study will fill in a number of important knowledge gaps regarding attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its impact on the child and family members. Questionnaires will be given to children with ADHD (6 - 18 years old) and their families. The data from these questionnaires will be expressed in generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) or utility measures for families where at least one child has ADHD. The use of HRQoL measures in economic evaluation to aid decision making in the NHS is widespread.

In one geographical area the main carer in the family will complete an electronic mood diary for one week and this will be compared with a control group matched by postcode and family size.

Study design

Primary study design

Secondary study design

Trial setting

Trial type

Patient information sheet

Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet

Condition

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Intervention

Amended as of 12/01/2010:This is a cross-sectional study administering questionnaires. There are six booklets to be completed by a family, though the number of booklets will vary according to the number of family members. There is a booklet for all children to complete, booklets for the main carer to complete about all children and booklets for both carers to complete. A booklet will also be sent to the child with ADHD's teacher and the research nurse will complete a booklet from the child with ADHD's medical notes.

The main carer in 100 of the families recruited will also complete a Daily Mood Diary for one week, where a set of 15 questions will be asked 10 times a day.

Follow-up length: 0 monthsStudy entry: registration only

Initial information at time of registration:This is a cross-sectional study administering questionnaires. There are six booklets to be completed by a family, though the number of booklets will vary according to the number of family members. There is a booklet for all children to complete, booklets for the main carer to complete about all children and booklets for both carers to complete. A booklet will also be sent to the child with ADHD's teacher and the research nurse will complete a booklet from the child with ADHD's medical notes.

The main carer will also complete a Daily Mood Diary for one week, where a set of 15 questions will be asked 10 times a day.

Overall trial start date

01/03/2010

Overall trial end date

01/03/2012

Reason abandoned

Eligibility

Participant inclusion criteria

1. A child with a current diagnosis of ADHD aged 6 to 18 years, either sex2. Siblings must be between 6 and 18 and living at home with the ADHD child3. Parents/guardians must be living at home with the ADHD child

Participant type

Patient

Age group

Child

Gender

Both

Target number of participants

1000 families, approx 4000 individuals

Participant exclusion criteria

1. A child with a comorbid diagnosis of conduct disorder2. The ADHD child is attending the clinic for the first time following their diagnosis